Aryna Sabalenka Reflects on Wimbledon Defeat with Frustration
Aryna Sabalenka admitted she currently has a strained relationship with Wimbledon after the top-ranked player suffered her third straight semi-final loss at the Championships on Thursday.
After her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 defeat, the Belarusian took a moment to collect herself, saying she wanted to avoid reacting emotionally like she did at Roland Garros, where she criticized Coco Gauff following her loss in the French Open final in June. Despite her efforts, Sabalenka was still candid in her post-match remarks.
“Losing is painful,” she said. “It feels like the worst thing, like everything is over. Whenever you compete at this level and reach the latter stages, you believe you’re close to your goal. Then you lose, and it’s as if that’s it—there’s nothing left.”
When asked if this loss could motivate her to eventually succeed at Wimbledon, the 27-year-old responded, “It’s hard to say, but I hope so. This is my third semi-final loss here, all of them tough. Then there was the ban in 2022, followed by injury. Right now, my feelings toward Wimbledon are more negative, but maybe one day that will change.”
Sabalenka acknowledged her opponent’s strong performance but also expressed frustration over an incident in the second set where she believed Amanda Anisimova celebrated prematurely before the ball was fully out of play.
“She started celebrating too early,” Sabalenka said. “Then she said that’s just how she plays. In a way, it helped me because it made me fight harder. I got angry, and that pushed me to come back.”
Anisimova later clarified that she had not celebrated but had instead let out a “long grunt.” Sabalenka also took issue with Anisimova not apologizing after winning a point off a net cord.
“I thought, ‘You’re not going to say sorry?’” Sabalenka said. “I guess she really wanted the win. It’s her choice. If she didn’t feel the need to acknowledge that lucky shot, that’s up to her.”
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